


Dark Justice

by GoodShipsDontSink



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, F/F, I wrote this for school and decided to post it here!, Mistaken Identity, Roommates, Semi-graphic descriptions of violence, Superheroes, Villains, and broke!, but it's not gory or excessive, it's kind of sad guys, young and in love!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 07:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodShipsDontSink/pseuds/GoodShipsDontSink
Summary: “Get out of the garbage, Doll, and shame on you!  Shouldn’t a Super know that plastic goes in the recycling?”, the Villain asks, with a slightly muffled voice very much brazened with a condescending tone.  Trixie wishes she could pull the bedazzled mask off of her own face just to stick her tongue out at the Red Scare, but she’s the Super here. ‘Pink Justice’ has to stop the Region’s Villain, not respond to her antics like a child.





	Dark Justice

When truly considered, the sense of smell is incredibly underrated when compared to other senses. For example, the jarring stench of rotted food and garbage juice consumes Trixie as she peels herself out of the alley dumpster she had crashed into only minutes earlier. She smiles to see that no one is around, because if someone had been there and recorded her fight, the video would have gone viral instantly, with the click bait, ‘WATCH REGION’S SUPERHERO EAT GARBAGE… LITERALLY!’ popping up on every news blog. This was one of the few perks of being a Super for a small region. No one cared to watch Trixie’s near-nightly fights, in fact, unless directly affected by the outcome, most pretended the battles didn’t even exist. It’s the little things.

Trixie heaves herself onto her two feet and glances up, trying to locate which rooftop her Villain had likely sulked off to. She catches a blur of black and red illuminated by a beam of moonlight, and suddenly the Red Scare is there, in all her glory, lounging lazily on an elevated windowsill with an honest-to-God sack of money tied over her shoulder like a satchel. The leather of her black cat suit shines in the light, and Trixie scowls at how pristine she looks, sparing a glance at her own ensemble which now has a large brown stain on the front, a piece of lettuce loafting on her thigh, and a teabag stuck on her shoe. Trixie can’t see Red’s face because of her helmet, but Trixie feels the sickly certainty that Red is smirking down at her in satisfaction.

“Get out of the garbage, Doll, and shame on you! Shouldn’t a  _ Super  _ know that plastic goes in the recycling?”, the Villain asks, with a slightly muffled voice very much brazened with a condescending tone. Trixie wishes she could pull the bedazzled mask off of her own face just to stick her tongue out at the Red Scare, but she’s the Super here. ‘Pink Justice’ has to  _ stop  _ the Region’s Villain, not respond to her antics like a child. 

Before Trixie can reply, The Red Scare disappears, but the telltale flash of colour betrays her direction. Trixie pauses, should she use her powers to lift herself up into the air? That’s what Red would expect her to do. If she stays near the ground, however, and flies through the alleys, she could surprise Red on the other side of town. She blasts off immediately, a shower of glitter trailing in her wake. The gust of wind she conjures in her rush sends a few loose papers flying, one of which a poster she had seen earlier that week.

_ “A poster? For our Super? Who the hell cares?” Trixie sips her iced coffee, watching her roommate gesticulate at the poster, her face one of disbelief. The last thing she wants is for her identity to be revealed, so Trixie keeps her expression impartial, like she does whenever this topic is discussed. Katya is her best friend, and has been for years. She doesn’t need to be involved in the ridiculous whirlwind of ‘Pink Justice’. “It’s more trouble than it’s worth, really. I wish they’d just leave us alone.” Trixie nods again, humming non-committedly, but the look that Katya is giving her begs for a response. A verbal one, likely. _

_ “I guess it’s not that bad? Isn’t it their “God-given Duty” or whatever, to protect our region?” Trixie offers and Katya gives her a strange look. _

_ “You’re siding with the Supers?”  _

_ “What’s the alternative? Siding with the Villains?”, Trixie retorts, and this makes her roommate silent and deflate. Katya looks away from the poster, her hand falling into Trixie’s, pulling her down the street.  _

_ “I know, Trix, I know. But come on, our Villain is just some dumb thief. I hear that Region 17 has a Villain who continuously tries to wipe out the entire population, or some other stupid scheme.” Katya snorts, rolling her eyes, but Trixie huffs. _

_ “Dumb thief? Katya, our Villain burns down banks after they get their money, killing anyone in their way to get what they want. The Red Scare is not some petty pickpocket, she’s dangerous.” _

_ It’s only when she notices Katya staring at her, does Trixie realize that she may have gone a bit too far. She regresses herself into the passive girl she’s expected to be, and quietly sips her drink. “But you’re right, the whole Villain vs Super thing is a hassle.” _

_ Katya nods, but her usual grin climbs back onto her face as they continue talking, and all mention of Power-Politics is left behind with the poster, flitting onto the ground to be thrown out. _

__

Trixie races toward the Red Scare who’s scampering across rooftops and shoots into the sky, causing Red to fall. Trixie reaches for the satchel, but the Red Scare does that incredibly annoying  _ thing  _ when all of her limbs become an elastic band, and suddenly she’s on the ground, stranding Trixie multiple stories above her. Red laughs and Trixie grits her teeth, following her to the ground, when the Villain’s arm elongates beyond all human parameters, and grabs Trixie’s leg. Trixie grunts as she’s hurled through the air and crashes into the Red Scare’s body with a thud. Trixie makes another haphazard grab for the bag on Red’s shoulder, but Red’s body folds like origami to avoid her clutches. Trixie rears back into the air, as the Red Scare returns to normal size.

“Gotta say, Barbie, you actually surprised me there, sneaking up like that. It’s nice to see a hero playing dirty.” Trixie narrows her eyes at Red through the mask.

“This whole thing is dirty.” She snaps, harsher than intended, and Red’s head jerks back in obvious shock.

“That’s awfully pessimistic, no?” The Red Scare places her hands on her hips like a domestic housewife placating a child, and Trixie’s fists ball at her sides.

“You  _ take human lives!  _ For what? Money? Get a day job or something!” 

“Would you believe me if I said it was for a good cause?” At this, Trixie can’t help but roll her eyes, and spits a little. Falling into Red had left a gross taste of leather in her mouth.

“I’d say something about eating leather, but I feel that’s a bit juvenile of a jibe.” The Red Scare bites and Trixie glares, still hovering above her. This does not deter Red, who simply lengthens her legs with ease, bringing her to a standing position at Trixie’s height. Her leather always stretches with her, regardless of the obscure shape her body takes, so Trixie only assumes that there must be some sort of magic around her ridiculous black ensemble. No one even  _ wears  _ leather anymore- she’d certainly gotten rid of any leather items she’d owned years ago, but especially once she’d become their Region’s primary Super. If she had to see her Villain in the offending material, then she sure as hell wasn’t going to have any of it hanging around at home.

_ “C’mon, Trix, you can’t throw it out, it’s artwork! It’s your fashion  _ pièce de résistance _ ” Katya protests, pouting and holding up the leather jacket that Trixie had been trying to exchange. _

_ “Kat, look at it, it’s tiny! There’s no way it’ll fit your slim figure, never mind all this,” she says, gesturing to her larger arms and torso. “It’s not like I can shrink my body to fit into it, now can I?”, she jokes, reaching to pull it from Katya’s hands. Something strange flashes over Katya’s face, but she meekly laughs as well. _

_ “I guess you can’t,” she agrees, and relinquishes her hold on it, dragging her red paint-chipped nails over the black material while Trixie pulls it from her hands and tosses it into the ‘give away’ pile, which has been steadily growing. A place in the city will give you money in exchange for clothes they can sell second-hand, and let’s face it, Trixie and Katya were struggling young adults. Getting rid of a few old clothing items for some coin was a simple way for them to afford meals in addition to their rent.  _

_ However, the dejected look on Katya’s face makes Trixie’s stomach twist so she reaches a hand to comfort her, her perfect pink manicured nails tracing circles on Katya’s own, and she smiles reassuringly. Her hands linger on the tiny flower chain tattooed on the small of her roommate’s wrist. The aroma of Katya’s essential oils she practically bathes in every morning is poignant in the air, and Trixie herself is calmed by the faint thyme and rosemary scent, _

_ “C’mon, Kat, it’s not like it would go with anything I own anymore, anyways”, she waves a hand towards her primarily pink closet and Katya snorts in agreement. _

_ “I suppose not, no.” _

The Red Scare seems to be too caught up in her attempted banter to notice Trixie pulling out her pink, glowing lasso, which wrenches the bag from Red’s leather-clad hand, and tosses it behind her, not glancing to where it lands. With her enhanced strength it could have been halfway across the city by now. Red’s arm lengthens to try and follow the bag, but Trixie blasts a surge of light power from her hands, searing the Villain’s arm, causing Red to hiss in pain. She moves to grab at Trixie, but the Super quickly ducks out of the way, surging up to land an uppercut on Red’s jaw, who stumbles in surprise and shrinks back to regular size.

“What the hell, Justice?” The Red Scare shouts at her, fuming as Trixie follows to hover in front of her, just a few feet above the ground where the Villain was massaging her bruised jaw. Her voice is muffled by the obnoxious red helmet, as it usually is, and this feels like the last straw of sorts for Trixie. It’s always a hassle, dealing with the Red Scare, but something about this has a sense of finality to it, an aura that Trixie can’t quite identify, but she’s certain that Red can feel it, too. Trixie’s  _ tired  _ of this, she didn’t choose to have these ‘enhancements’, but was appointed by a greater power, the same as all the other Supers, and, nothing is more frustrating than when a Villain doesn’t even know when they’re in the wrong. Everything that Red is doing is getting on Trixie’s nerves, and right now it’s the goddamn helmet that is like a punch to her gut every occasion it scalds her eyes. There’s only one thing that Trixie associates with that specific shade of  _ Russian Red,  _ and it’s that one colour that Katya always has smeared over her lips.

_ “It’s the cheapest one at the drug store, Trix”, is Katya’s explanation when she broaches the topic while eating dinner, watching Katya finish applying her makeup and fixing her hair before she has to head out for another ‘date’.  _

_ “It must be cheap because no one wants it. It’s jarring, really.” Trixie shrugs with her usual feigned indifference, making Katya cackle like a banshee. She doesn’t make a joke about red lips and platinum blonde hair being a ‘hooker’ look, because that would certainly be a step over the line. _

_ “Now, now, Trixie, don’t jest,” she says, rounding the table to plant a kiss on her cheek, no doubt leaving a red stain there. “I know you love this colour.” She punctuates her statement with a wink as she heads out the door, leaving Trixie sitting dumbly at the table, a blush crawling up her neck. She slowly reaches a hand to caress her own cheek, feeling the phantom touch of Katya’s lips there. Her eyes catch her image in the mirror, a Russian Red lipstick imprint left there on her cheek.  _

_ It is hard to fight the Red Scare that same night, the red helmet a reminder of her roommate departing earlier in the evening, leaving her distracted enough to let Red escape with the loot she had. It was even harder post-fight, after shedding and hiding her superhero attire for the night and awaiting Katya’s return. As usual, she comes back in the early hours of morning, disheveled and more often than not, battered and bruised. That night was no exception when she stumbles through the door. Even as rumpled as she looks, she flashes a bright smile at Trixie, bright red lips framing her perfect teeth. _

_ “Tomorrow’s breakfast is on me!”, she exclaims happily, making her way over to Trixie. The bruises don’t escape Trixie’s scrutinizing eye. Or the cut lip. All she knows is that Katya goes on these ‘dates’, and returns with money and a new shiner almost every night. She purses her lips but doesn’t say anything. “Or well, today’s breakfast,” she amends, nodding to the rising sun in the distance, face falling slightly. _

_ “Sounds great, Kat.”  _

_ The red lips break into a grin again. _

The shiny red helmet of the exact same colour is needling at Trixie. A reminder that she has to be out here protecting her Region from its Villain, instead of being at home and protecting what really matters to her. She watches Red tilt her head up, no doubt looking for a way to escape, to stretch her body over the city and disappear until tomorrow, for her next heist. Trixie reaches, and a burst of pink erupts form her hand, and although she doesn’t feel anything, she’s aware of how it burns like fire to others.

The blast skims Red’s shoulder, and she snaps up, head turning in confusion. She has every right to be, it’s confusing for Trixie, too. This is the part of the night where Red makes her getaway, and despite being able to blast her into next week, Trixie lets her. 

But not this time. Trixie’s heart is pounding with anger, and she feels her breath getting shallow. She may be this Region’s Super, but she never asked for it. These powers aren’t something you  _ apply  _ for, or  _ choose.  _ They were forced upon her, and she’s over it. It ends tonight.

“That was cuttin’ it a little close, Barbie!” The Red Scare coarsely shouts up at her, but Trixie can hear the undercurrent of fear in her muffled voice.

“Guess that’s the point, isn’t it?” Trixie shouts back, and Red extends herself again to be face-to-face with the Super.

“That’s how it’s gonna be?”, she asks, and Trixie pulls out her glowing lasso, unravelling it with care, not breaking eye contact with Red, although the reflective eye cover of her helmet leaves her only glaring at her own reflection. She can barely recognize the determined look of fury in her own eyes behind her mask.

That’s not what she wants to see. She wants to see her reflection in the bathroom mirror at her apartment, maybe with Katya smiling next to her in it. A normal life, with a normal schedule, and a normal job, so her roommate wouldn’t need to sell herself to make rent. She feels tears brimming in her eyes and glares at the Red Scare, as if this whole thing is her fault. 

“That’s how it gonna be.” She confirms, surging forward. 

Red dodges her hook easily, but Trixie catches her with a flying roundhouse, slamming the Villain into the building behind her. She attacks, abandoning most of her enhanced powers in favour of hand-to-hand combat. It’s eerie in the night, the sounds of punches and kicks breaking the silence, like it could be a common mugging rather than a Super/Villain fight. After a particularly hard blow to the side of Red’s head, Trixie inhales deeply, the undeniable smell of copper. Blood. Trixie reckons that it’s probably a more subdued shade of the red on her helmet. She feels something creep in her stomach, but ignores it. The Red Scare clearly wants to make an escape, and she shoots into the air, but Trixie has a clear shot. She takes it. A burst of light erupts from her hand, catching the Villain in the side. Her body stutters and returns to normal size, falling towards the pavement as it shrinks down. Trixie heads to the empty street where she knows the body will fall, and watches as it slams onto the road with a resounding thud.

Trixie knows that she should feel something akin to disgust, or remorse, but at the moment, it’s overwhelming relief. If this worked and Red is gone, she can finally be done with this. She’ll pretend she never had these God-forsaken powers and go live a regular life with Katya. She can imagine it already, and she smiles to herself. First, however, she knows she needs to ensure that The Red Scare is truly gone, no longer a hindrance to society. She slowly approaches the motionless body, and kneels at her side.

She leans over to feel Red’s wrists, to confirm that there’s no sign of life, then realizes that this is the closest she’s been to Red without fighting her. She catches a whiff and frowns at the strange scent of what seem to be spices mingled with the stinging smell of blood. She brashly removes the leather glove from Red’s hand, and immediately drops it. Her own hand singes with a fiery heat, as if they were clutching fire. Her breathing stops. She grabs Red’s hand again, tenderly this time, and turns it over, running her finger over the delicate tattoo on the inner wrist. The floral chain.

“Please, no,” she whispers, her stomach churning when she can’t feel any evidence of a heartbeat. She slowly reaches for the helmet and pulls upwards, a wave of blonde hair tumbling out. With the face of the Villain exposed, and the distinct smell of copper in the air, Trixie feels bile building in her throat.

The Russian Red lips parted and paralyzed in shock.

Trixie rips her own mask from her face, and leans over her best friend.

“I’m so sorry”, she whispers to Katya’s lifeless body. “I’m so sorry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow sorry guys!
> 
> As I mentioned earlier, I wrote this for school, but liked it, so I thought I'd post it here :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment or kudos if you feel so inclined <3


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